Ch. 227

“I’m leaving. Have fun, you two.”

“Wait! Don’t leave us alone……”

“I’m going! Handle your own business! Don’t be so clueless and ruin other people’s dates! Let’s go, Ash.”

“……Oh, ah! Yes!”

Chad, that guy, can’t even live up to his size. If he’s clueless, he should at least have courage. How’s he ever going to get married like that? I’ll applaud if Akia dumps him.

I quickly moved away from the green couple, and Ash followed me without any trouble.

I wanted to hide the fact that I was walking with the biggest strides I could manage, but his steps were so light it was pointless.

Seriously, these knights… I looked up at Ash with unnecessary annoyance, then paused and asked:

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“……”

Smiling like that out of nowhere was cheating. Whispering so softly was cheating. Getting so close so suddenly was cheating.

“I’m happier than I can express. Geenie, you might not realize it, but you’re someone who makes me happy very easily.”

It was better not to say anything right now. I felt like I’d start stammering like Chad without realizing it.

I thought I only liked Ash’s face, but if I felt this way even with a fake face, it was confusing.

Did I like something other than his face? If so, was I liking him too much?

—

The inside of the building, which I barely managed to enter while being pushed by the crowd, was even more crowded than outside. Naturally so, since all those people had been squeezed in here. People trying to find empty seats and merchants selling snacks were all jumbled together, turning the place into complete chaos.

I could hear shouting from all directions for reasons I couldn’t grasp, and fights over seats broke out everywhere, with people even drawing their swords.

They were stopped by the guards, but the atmosphere was far from peaceful. I wouldn’t be surprised if a spectator died before Rovenin did.

I didn’t like crowds to begin with, and after having my feet stepped on several times, my love for humanity was quickly running out.

I wanted to summon Endairon and wipe out all these humans, but as a modern person with patience and reason, I was holding back for now.

If I endured three times, I might save humanity.

“Everyone’s so diligent. I didn’t realize the seats would be full already.”

“Hmm…… Where should we sit? I don’t like the inside.”

“How about those seats in the hallway?”

“Sure.”

The general seats mainly used by commoners were cramped and dirty. I wondered when they had last been cleaned. The floor was sticky, the chairs were flimsy, and the main stadium was so far away people looked like fingernails.

I was starting to regret not getting a VIP seat by selling the Saintess’s name.

But I didn’t want to reveal my identity, and I knew it would cause a commotion if it became known that I was here. Besides, I thought it would be more fun to watch the match while laughing and chatting comfortably with my companions.

In the end, everyone scattered, leaving only Ash and me…

Since it had come to this, I decided to make up for our ruined date last time.

My parents had suddenly appeared, so I hadn’t even been able to touch Ash after he purified himself. I wanted to get him drunk and check his alcohol tolerance before taking off his necklace.

All with pure intentions, of course.

Wasn’t wanting to see a handsome man’s cheeks flushed from drinking a woman’s instinct?

“The stadium is a bit far, but it’s not bad. Geenie? Would you like to sit here?”

Ash, who had no idea what I was thinking, was already recommending a seat where he had neatly laid out a handkerchief.

Our spots were in a corner where the stadium was slightly diagonal from us, and he was giving me the better one. Seeing his sincerity, I quietly sat down.

The stadium, which was a square close to a circle, had an open ceiling, so I naturally looked up at the sky.

As if it knew this was the day everyone had been waiting for, the weather was perfect. It was the kind of flawless day that made you realize happiness was close at hand.

I could see Rovenin getting wrecked. What could be better than this day?

“Hehehe.”

[I think you just had some dirty thoughts……]

[Don’t try to find out the details!]

[Master, please protect my pure mental state! My innocent soul is being tainted by lewdness!]

[Hmph, who cares about being pure.]

Even though I was in a good mood, I couldn’t agree that Rai was the owner of a pure soul.

I glanced around.

The seats were almost full, even though there was still quite a bit of time before the match. That meant a lot of people had been waiting for this day.

The entire crowd was buzzing, eagerly anticipating the start of the duel.

Of course, I was one of them. Feeling the excitement and heat around me, I couldn’t help but pull out the green flag I had bought in the plaza.

“Geenie……? When did you buy that?”

“Just now! On the way to pick up Akia.”

It was a simple cheering tool: a long strip of green cloth attached to a wooden stick.

It felt oddly refreshing to wave it with both hands. I waved the flag at Ash as if to show off.

“I wanted to buy a bigger one, but it was sold out. So I bought two. Want one?”

I was in a good mood. It was more fun to wave two, but I’d lend him one, specially.

I held out a flag like I was doing him a favor. He needed to know I didn’t give these out to just anyone.

“……It’s okay. For now…… I’m an imperial citizen, after all.”

“Ah, I’ll respect that.”

Right. I was so used to him being a good attendant that I’d overlooked the fact that he was also the Imperial Prince.

The atmosphere in the stadium openly favored Count Trenpe’s victory, which had nothing to do with me, Dmitri’s person, but for Ash it must have been a thorny place to sit.

That atmosphere meant Rovenin’s defeat. In other words, it showed how many people wanted the Empire’s pride to be crushed.

The difference was obvious at a glance. Those wishing for Count Trenpe’s victory were waving all sorts of green items symbolizing Heidrike, while the people cheering for Rovenin were dressed in red—but they were clearly fewer in number.

The stands were awash in green everywhere you looked. It was exactly how a lush forest must look from above.

Just because there were a few red fruits among the greenery didn’t mean the forest’s color changed. As long as the green was overwhelming, it was just a green forest.

For someone with a normal mental state, just drawing a sword in this atmosphere would be a tremendous ordeal.

The stands were filled with an air that cruelly wished for someone’s downfall, and no one expected Rovenin to win.

They were just watching his recklessness, waiting for the perfect chance to jeer at the Duke’s bloodline.

They were like a pack of hyenas waiting for the moment the Empire’s pride would be disgraced.

‘Leaving aside personal feelings, even objectively, the odds of winning are low.’

Count Trenpe was one of the continent’s most renowned powerhouses. He had already risen to the rank of Swordmaster when Rovenin was born—though somehow he didn’t seem like the type who would have cried, even then.

He was Heidrike’s proud sword, a general who deserved respect as a representative figure symbolizing the kingdom’s strength alongside Great Spirit Master Tiatrisen.

He was a national hero and spiritual pillar who had protected this country longer than Rovenin had been alive.

On the other hand, Rovenin was just a greenhorn who had been defeated by that very Count less than half a year ago and was now baring his teeth and charging at him again.

He was the unparalleled genius the Empire was so proud of, but he was also a pitiful guy whose mental state was seriously concerning. Obsessed with fighting, stirring up the entire continent, picking fights everywhere.

If his status had been humble, someone would have tried to stop him, but since he was the eldest son of a ducal family, he was like a high-priced thoroughbred let loose in the fields.

They had to catch him, but no one dared to touch him, and it was clear he was ignoring both the Emperor’s and the Duke’s words.

He was a lucky bastard who lived as he pleased, yet a powerful one who kept defeating strong opponents and raising his reputation.

‘I had a stomachache for three days when I heard the rumor that Rovenin had won.’

How relieved the people of Heidrike must have been when he finally fell to the Count after strutting around so arrogantly.

Heidrike had always been uncooperative and rebellious toward Elan, so they openly rejoiced when their hero crushed the Empire’s pride. The festive mood lasted quite a while.

In the end, they even prepared a stage at the festival as if they were already celebrating a second victory in advance.

From the moment it was given the grand name ‘Dra Toom Dra,’ it stopped being just a duel between knights.

It became a clash of pride between nations—Elan versus Heidrike—and the best part, from their point of view, was that Elan’s defeat looked so certain.

How badly did they want to see Elan’s high nose crushed that they abandoned their work and flocked here?

Nobles and commoners alike felt the same. Everyone was focused on the stadium with restless hearts.

And among all these people, the one who wished most purely for Rovenin’s humiliation was me.

I didn’t care about national pride at all. I just hated Rovenin so much it made me want to curse.

As time went on, I became more and more anxious and couldn’t sit still in my chair, getting up several times. No need to hide it—I was a human being with a severe lack of patience.

“Ugh! Why isn’t it starting! It feels like it’s been hours!”

“It hasn’t even been twenty minutes……”

“Who cares! Tell them to start already!”

“Calm down. Geenie, it looks like it’s about to start soon. The emcee is out. Look.”

“Where? I can’t see him.”

“There.”

I only managed to spot him after Ash pointed with his long finger.

I could see the emcee stepping out of the players’ entrance, a fancy green cloak over his shoulders. From here, he looked tiny.

“It’s too far!”

My eyesight was better than average, but it was no match for this distance.

I narrowed my eyes and shaded them with my hand as I searched for Rovenin.

Damn it, I should have bought a binocular. In this world, it was such an expensive item that only nobles used it.

If they’d sold them on the street, I would have bought one on the spot. I quickly scanned the crowd to see if anyone had one, but everyone was in the same situation as me—squinting and trying to make something out.

[Rai.]

[Yes?]

[Go to the VIP seats and bring back a binocular that a noble has.]

[You’re saying it like it’s something I already left there…… You mean steal it?]

I felt like it wasn’t a crime if I didn’t say who the victim was.

[Borrow it. I might return it later.]

[You never return anything.]

[It’s okay to steal from nobles. They’re rich anyway.]

[Isn’t Master richer? You’re taking the flea’s liver……]

[No, no. It’s fine to steal from nobles. If you steal from a commoner, that’s like taking the flea’s liver. Nobles will be fine without it. You don’t need to feel guilty because it won’t even be obvious you stole from them. It’s like how you’re not a water thief if you take some water from a river.]

[……That’s amazing logic! It’s kind of persuasive……]

If there had been a commoner nearby with a binocular, I would have bought it for a hundred times the price they paid. Since there wasn’t, I had no choice but to rip off a noble.

[Go quickly. Don’t get caught.]

[Yes!]

[If you get caught, absorb it and destroy the evidence.]

[Leave it to me! Who do you think I am! I am Master’s Spirit! I’m a professional at perfect crimes!]

Since a binocular was mostly made of metal, I could, in theory, have Rai create one. The problem was that I didn’t know the theory.

I didn’t know exactly what scientific principles a binocular used, or what kind of parts with what shapes and functions it needed, so even if we could imitate its appearance, we couldn’t make one that worked properly.

If it were something simple like a gold coin, I could make as many as I wanted. Making money was the easiest thing in the world.

-Thank you for waiting! Everyone!

The greater the expectations, the longer the wait feels.

Finally, when the emcee announced the start of Toomdra, circling the stadium with exaggerated gestures before easily climbing up onto it, a deafening roar exploded from the stands all at once.